24 November 2021
Atlas Professionals make inroads into Green Hydrogen with Vision H2
Atlas knows what it takes to stay ahead of the curve and a successful energy transition means keeping the essential element in the energy value chain – ‘Hydrogen’ close to our business. Atlas Professionals recently partnered with Belgian Energy Pioneer André Jurres to provide personnel for his new Green Hydrogen venture Vision H2.The company aims to build multiple clean hydrogen production facilities across Western Europe.
Supporting Vision H2 in the initial stages of setting up their plant - Atlas has successfully confirmed an Electrical Engineer, Project Manager and Chief Finance Officer for their Vlissingen office and is currently recruiting for other roles for Vision H2. With its first entry into the Hydrogen sector – Atlas has now expanded its support to sustainable businesses to help companies meet their specialist requirements and support clients in leading the energy transition.
In a conversation with Atlas, André Jurres discusses the future of Green Hydrogen and the challenges that lay ahead.
Location is key
With their facilities for Hydrogen plants in Vlissingen and Terneuzen in the Netherlands under development, the company aims to make its scalable electrolyser operational by 2023. The location choice is a very strategic one – the sites are industrial zones with good infrastructure connections and already have some usage of hydrogen sub knowledge.
André explains, “It’s quite logical for us to have the plants in these places because they are in the industrial zone and have good capacity connections. We are close to the sea. We have received the permit for Phase One and will have a 25MW plant – which in electricity terms seems rather small but in Hydrogen terms it’s huge. There is nothing bigger in Europe than this now – in the Benelux region, in France and the UK – we are the first one to receive a permit for such a large industrial installation – so it’s very new currently.”
Future proof
Green hydrogen is produced using clean renewable energy sources and offshore wind farms have proven to be crucial in making its production climate neutral. The logistical placement of Vision H2 locations is making the company future ready. Andre asserts, “Being close to the entry of sea is also interesting for the future. Once we have smaller ships, barges can start to use hydrogen instead of only diesel or go hybrid. For example, we could build a jetty or a fuelling station here and then the barges can take on the hydrogen directly from the plant.”
Specialised pool of resources
Being specialised with a strong regional and international presence has helped Atlas establish a wide network of skilled personnel to support companies that need knowledgeable and competent professionals. The partnership with Atlas has ensured a smooth transition for Jurres, “Atlas is specialised in technical profiles and this matters to us. It is not easy to be differentiating when there are so many recruitment companies available, but what I like is that Atlas has found a good niche for themselves."
Building up from scratch
Parallelly Vision H2 is focussing on building infrastructure, on the technology and preparing storage facilities, “When you start development in renewables, you know when you start but you don’t know when you’re going to have a good result and that’s the reason, we have started earlier than the rest – we believe that there’s going to be off-takers and customers who need green hydrogen. With the permits coming in at a record speed, the past 12 months have been very interesting for us. We are also looking at other sites in the Netherlands and outside of the Netherlands,” Jurres shares.
Besides assisting Vision H2 with its executive search for key management roles, Atlas is also recruiting skilled engineers and technicians for the next phase of the project. Find all our open renewables positions here or reach out to Miranda de Kraker to discover how we can support your needs for skilled personnel for every phase of your project.